Peanuts and Pizza

Here's the latest installment in Cooking With Kids.

Downside of the project:  Doing all the nagging/browbeating/herding that goes into teaching a teenager to turn his back on all things fun, and cajoling him instead to focus his attention on the kitchen counter .

Upside:  The boys are indeed learning to cook.  And so, Cooking With Kids is one of my penances goals for 2012.

I take success where I can find it.  

Success number 1:  our first mailing of the magazine Chop Chop has arrived.  N-son devoured it, so to speak, and asked me, could we please make our own peanut butter?  From peanuts?  Apparently, peanut butter does not originally come from plastic jars on the grocery shelves, he's discovered.  His mother has promised that, if he's very, very good, he may use the food processor and our Miller-purchased peanuts.  He's promised to be very, very good.  

Success number 2:  I had a business dinner to go to last week.  I took a chance that night; I left the kiddos my camera and a note instructing them to make pizza and to take pictures.  I didn't leave the recipe; that's already in their own personal recipe books.  J-son didn't turn his back on all things fun, but N-son and K-daughter got down to work.

Here are 5 of the 30-some photos they took -- these were mostly pictures of the kids rolling in the dough; no good pictures of them hitting the sauce or cutting the cheese.  (Oops, sorry; teenage boy humor).

The house didn't burn down.  Everyone got fed.  There were even a few leftovers.  Score!